


Nico di Angelo and the Big Bad Wolf

by MyVantilene



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Child Abuse, F/F, M/M, Multi, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-05
Packaged: 2018-02-03 14:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1747400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyVantilene/pseuds/MyVantilene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason is a simple lycanthropic, shape shifting teenager. He just wants his first date to not end in the death of his crush.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nico di Angelo and the Big Bad Wolf

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tinybro](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=tinybro).



The first time Jason sees Nico di Angelo is at the dog park.

The thing about being part canine is that sometimes you can’t help being a huge cliché, and the dog park is nice anyhow, the grass is almost unnaturally green, the winding paths are paved beautifully, and there’s a certain tree that Jason loves to lie under after his jog, because he can look up and see the way the sun filters through its branches. He’s lying underneath it the first time he spots Nico. It’s early August, and Jason hasn’t turned on a full moon yet. A common misconception for supernatural teens is that everything begins on the eve of their sixteenth birthday. Contrary to popular belief, there’s normally a six month waiting period, and for Jason’s particular brand of freak, it happens six months later on a full moon. Jason has all the senses, though, so he picks up on Nico’s scent before he can even see him. It’s an interesting smell, enticing and poignant, but not abrasive like most people’s scents are. He’d been properly educated on all werewolf side effects by his family, who are all extremely proud to be what they are, and he knows the factors that go into a person’s scent are several and varied. But to put it simply, the better the person, the better the smell. And Jason can tell right away that Nico has a rare magnanimity to him, the kind that smells like buttermilk frosting, with a touch of something sweeter. When he actually comes into view, skin and bones bundled up in an aviator jacket despite the heat, the scent only grows in complexity, there’s vanilla extract, strawberries dipped in chocolate, caramel apples, buttery pancakes, warm cinnamon buns, funnel cakes saturated in powdered sugar, and Jason can’t make out every scent, but he tries his best. He watches as the other dogs in the park back away from him, their tails between their legs as they twist their owner around trying to avoid him. That, Jason doesn’t understand. Then an enormous dog with black fur comes barreling out of the nowhere and knocks the poor kid off his feet, covering him in wet, slobbery dog kisses. He laughs, and it’s as if he’s verbalizing the scent, sending it off on sound waves and heightening the sweetness of it. He gets up and scratches the dog behind its ears, says something like ‘good girl’ over and over again, just showers the dog in affection, and Jason wants to go over and say something, but he can’t think of any way to start a conversation. Jason doesn’t own any dogs, didn’t bring any to the park, so there’s no openers he can use at the expense of some poor animal.

He ends up going home instead.

On the first day of school, Jason sees Nico again. Well, he doesn’t exactly see him at first; the kid is a walking bakery and as soon as he sets foot on campus, he knows he’s there. Sure enough, Jason spots him in the back of his AP US history class.

“Hey,” he greets warmly enough, sitting down in the empty desk next to him, “I’m Jason.”

“Nico.” He replies, as if confused by his own name. He stares at Jason with unmasked suspicion, and from anyone else, he’d think he was being rude, but Jason knows it’s something else. After a moment, Nico speaks up.

“Why are you being nice to me?”

That takes Jason by surprise. All he did was sit down and introduce himself. And the way Nico says it, as if he’s waiting for some ulterior motive to be brought to light, probably expecting something more sinister than wanting to woo him. Jason shrugs.

“You seem cool.” Is all he says and he kind of wants to punch himself for how dorky it sounds.

“Really,” Nico tugs at his Goodwill clothes for emphasis, “ _I_ seem cool?”

“Well, I haven’t seen you around here before. Just wanted to introduce myself.”

“I’m new,” Nico clarifies, “And a sophomore.”

“A sophomore taking a junior AP?”

“Two junior APs actually.”

“How?”

“I applied?” Nico says, “I transferred in from Maine, the standards were different there. I took AP world as a freshman.”

“So smart and good-looking then?”

Nico bristles at that.

“Funny,” he says tersely, “So what is this, a dare? A bet?”

“What?”

“Sitting next to me. Voluntarily. Which one of your friends put you up to it?”

“None of them. I mean, no one put me up to this.”

“Then why are you here, Jason?”

“I don’t know, to get to know you?”

“Really,” Nico deadpans, “You want to get to know me.”

“Why is that so hard to believe?”

“To put it bluntly? Because I’m new, I’m weird, and I’m ugly. And you look like a well-established, charming Student Council president. We’re not generally supposed to mix.”

“It couldn’t hurt to try,” Jason says, “And you’re not ugly.”

Nico scoffs at that, but doesn’t protest Jason sitting there any further. It turns out they have AP Lang together, too, and Jason sits next to him in the very back again.

From there, it’s a lot of pencil-borrowing and note-sharing that somehow evolves into friendship. Jason even approaches him when he sees him again at the dog park. Eventually, that becomes a regular thing, and Jason gets to know Mrs. O’Leary, Nico’s semi-adopted, unusually large black lab. Jason learns a lot about Nico along the way, discovers that the vanilla extract in his scent represents a balance between innocence and maturity, and that, like Jason, he’s dyslexic, but spends almost all of his time studying to get past it. He’s ADHD as well, which makes his hobby of studying difficult, but not impossible, meaning Nico can and does do it despite his afflictions. His favorite color is teal, contrary to popular belief, his favorite Disney princess is Tiana, his favorite superhero is Captain America, he doesn’t like sugary foods despite smelling like it all the time, he’s a giant history nerd, and Jason lives for the shining moments when Nico will completely come out of his shell and talk with unveiled passion about the things he cares about, and he almost wants to cry when Nico realizes what he’s doing, and draws back inward, apologizing as he sticks his hands in his jacket. But if Jason had to use one word to describe Nico, it would be good. He was just so pure of heart, so caring, so altruistic, just so, so good. And always doubting it.

It’s unfortunate that Jason met Nico After. He doesn’t know After what, he just knows that there was a Before, sees it in glimmers of smiles and unabashed laughs, knows that Nico was once ordinary and happy, and it shines through sometimes. He wants to get Nico back there, wants to go back with him, but the best he can do is try to be his friend and hope that one day he can see himself the way Jason sees him.

So when Nico comes to him after sixth period, telling him he needs a place to stay for the night, Jason doesn’t hesitate to consent.

“All of this belongs to you?” Nico asks incredulously, hefting his book bag over his shoulder and staring at the Grace abode.

“Been in the family for generations.”

“Wow.” He mouths as Jason leads him inside. If possible, Nico’s jaw drops even lower.

“Here, um, my room’s on the third floor.”

“There’s a third floor?”

Jason hasn’t always lived in the Grace mansion, so he knows what it’s like to first see it and all its grandeur, but Jason’s room is actually the smallest in the entire house. It used to be a slave quarters when the house was first built, and although Juno warned him it was haunted, he still liked it. It was small and simple, just a bed and a dresser, and Jason likes to remember the past grievances of his ancestors, keeps himself in check in a way, reminds him that prejudice is a slippery slope.

“It’s huge,” Nico gapes, “This is your room? Like, you don’t share with anyone?”

“Nope, it’s all mine.” Nico opens the closet, and then stares back at the bed. He points at it, almost confused.

“That’s the bed, right?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s huge.”

“Mhmm.”

“No, like, you could probably fit ten people on that.”

Jason wonders if they’re looking at the same queen sized bed.

“You… I can’t believe you actually live here.”

“I felt the same way when I first moved here. It’s a little overwhelming, but you get used to it.”

Nico side-eyes Jason.

“I’m only spending the night.”

“Oh, yeah, of course, I know. I just meant, uh, that for me… I got used to it… um —”

“Well, I really don’t want to impose on you too much, I can take the closet and you can keep your bed.”

“No way, you’re a guest. I wouldn’t be a good host if I let you sleep in the closet.”

Nico cocks his head to the side, looking confused.

“Then where do I sleep?”

“There’s a guest room right across the hall from mine, you can take that.”

“Alright.”

“Will you be joining us for dinner?”

Nico hesitates.

“When I said I needed a place to sleep, I didn’t mean you had to go all out.”

“Dinner isn’t going all out.”

“Right,” Nico says, mostly to himself, “You guys probably eat three meals a day.”

“What, do you not?”

“Uh… of course. Of course I do.”

He looks uncomfortable about it, so Jason doesn’t press. Nico’s always been on the skinny side, Jason supposes, but yelling at him to take care of himself isn’t going to do much. The least Jason can do is make sure he has enough to eat.

Which isn’t an easy task when his parents decide to drill him all through dinner.

“So, Nico, where did you live before here?” Juno asks, cutting into her steak.

“Maine.” Nico answers, moving the food on his plate around.

There’s not a lot on it in the first place, and Jason hasn’t seen him take a bite yet.

He emits a candied popcorn smell when he’s nervous, which ordinarily Jason finds kind of cute, but now, with his elitist parents interrogating him during what is supposed to be a nice dinner, Jason finds it kind of distressing.

“Do you play any sports?” Jupiter asks, almost as if he’s pressuring Nico into saying yes.

“…No,” he eventually answers, “Sorry.”

“Any plans for college?”

“I’m just a sophomore.”

Juno and Jupiter exchange a disapproving look. The candied popcorn smell becomes more pungent. Jason can’t decide whether or not they can smell it too, whether or not they can smell anything off of Nico, because the dirty looks they give him are filled with repulse and Jason doesn’t understand anyone having that sort of reaction to Nico di Angelo.

“Well, do you have anything you’re good at?”

Nico sets his fork down, as if deciding then that he’s full despite his mouth never coming in contact with anything on his plate. He looks like he’s about to tell them no, he doesn’t have anything he’s good at, but Jason pipes up before he can answer.

“Nico got into AP US and AP Lang as a sophomore. He has all A’s and volunteers at an animal shelter on the weekends.”

Juno perks up at that.

“Really? You volunteer at an animal shelter?”

“Yeah,” some of the candied popcorn smell recedes as he gives a quasi-smile, “I love dogs, but my… the landlord doesn’t allow pets, so I mostly just take care of the ones at the shelter.”

“A dog lover, huh?” Jupiter smiles, but it’s more predatory than anything else, “I guess he’s not too bad then.”

After dinner, Jason walks Nico back up to his guest room. He plans on saying something clever, or vaguely romantic, but Nico slips inside and closes the door before Jason even has time to open his mouth. He just stands there, and after a while he hears a quiet ‘goodnight’ uttered through the door. He returns the sentiment, then goes back to his own room.

In the morning, Nico’s gone. The bed is made, the trash can is empty, and the maids haven’t even made their rounds yet.

He runs into Juno downstairs.

“Have you seen Nico?”

“You mean your necromancer friend?”

 _“Necromancer?_ What are you talking about?”

“You mean you don’t know,” she purrs, like the news is interesting to her, “Well, well, your nose isn’t as good as I thought it’d be. Maybe if you were a purebred we wouldn’t have this problem.”

Jason grits his teeth, but makes an attempt to act civil.

“Nico doesn’t smell like a necromancer.”

“You’re right. He smells like pastries, doesn’t he? I don’t know how he does it, but the scent isn’t his. It can’t be. Necromancers always smell like death.”

“Then how do you know he’s a necromancer?”

“Because I know his father.”

“You… do?”

“Yes. But that’s a story for another day. You said you didn’t know where he is? Well I saw him leave for school a couple hours ago.”

“What do you mean? It’s six o’clock, and he doesn’t even have a car.”

“He just walked out. Did a good job cleaning the guest room, though, I’m admittedly impressed. But I still want you to stay away from him for now on.”

“Why?”

“He’s not one of us, Jason. He’s mortal. Someone like that is beneath you.”

“Thanks for the advice, Mom,” he says sardonically, “But I’m pretty sure I can pick my own friends. Now if you’d excuse me…” He pushes past her and grabs his car keys from the kitchen counter.

He finds Nico walking on the side of the road a couple blocks down.

“Need a ride?” he asks, rolling down the window.

“I’m good.” Nico calls back.

“Come on, man, get in the car.”

“It’s only a couple more miles.”

“It’s going to rain soon.”

“So?”

“So you’re going to get hypothermia and die if you don’t get in this car right now.”

Nico sighs and opens the passenger door.

“Are you sure you want me stinking up your car?”

Jason laughs.

“You have no idea.”

Over the next couple months, Nico stays over at his house more and more often. Juno and Jupiter are none too happy about that, but Jason is the perfect child and if he wants to have his alleged necromancer friend over for a couple nights, who are they to complain?

(That doesn’t stop them from complaining, of course.)

But as time goes on, and the invitation is never made, Jason realizes that he has to make an effort if he ever wants to see where Nico lives. It takes a week of pandering to Nico’s non-existent ego, reasoning, and outright begging in some regards to move their study session from the library to Nico’s apartment. Because, let’s be honest, Jason has been trying to woo the guy since he transferred in from Maine last August, and it has not been easy. It’s always two steps forward and one step back with Nico, and it has taken months for him to see Jason as a tentative friend and that, no, Jason is not hanging out with him as a joke.

Yes, he actually does care about him.

They have made progress since then, no doubt, and Jason knows that the next step is to actually see the infamous di Angelo house. And that’s how he finds himself in the bad part of town, standing inside the grimiest apartment complex he’s ever seen, staring at the crooked 3 on the casing. Nico opens the door, a bandana tied around his head, yellow gloves swallowing his forearms, and a hesitant smile on his face.

“You’re early,” he points out, forcing the door wider for Jason to step in, “I was trying to clean the place up a bit, but…”

Once inside, Jason actually… wants to call the police. It’s palpable that whoever lives there has barely any ability to support themselves, let alone a child. Nico seems undeterred by his silent gaping, as he idly chatters away, kicking a couple of beer bottles out of his path as he walks.

“I’m sorry about the mess, I figured I’d have some time to clean the living room before you showed up, but… I guess it’ll just have to do.”

He leads Jason out of the living room, down to the closet at the end of the hallway.

“Probably should’ve cleaned the living room first… I doubt we can both fit in my room.”

“Why wouldn’t we —” Nico opens the door to the closet and, okay, Jason seriously wants to call the police.

At first glance it’s a regular closet, filled with coats and jeans and an umbrella pressed against the inside. The top mantle, however, is made up like a bed, with Nico’s backpack and AP books piled on, and posters all around it.

“Is that… your bed?”

“Yeah?” Nico asks, like having a shelf-turned-bed was the most ordinary thing in the world.

“Can you even fit up there?”

“Of course I can,” Nico says defensively, crossing his arms, “It might not be as nice as yours, but it holds up pretty well. It hasn’t fallen down in the past two weeks.”

“It’s fallen down before? With you on it?”

Nico looks away.

“Forget it,” he grumbles, swiping his AP US History book off the shelf-bed, “Let’s just study.”

“Wait,” Jason calls, following him back out into the living room, “Were you hurt? Did you have to go the hospital?”

“I’m not allowed to go to the hospital.”

 _“What?_ Why not?”

Nico clears some empty beer cans from the couch and flops down on it.

“Minos said his insurance wouldn’t cover it.”

“Minos? As in Greek mythology, King Minos?”

“It’s a nickname.”

“And ‘Minos’ is your dad?”

“Minos is my uncle,” he corrects, flipping through the book, “What’s with all the questions? If I had known this was going to be an interrogation I wouldn’t have cleaned the bathroom for you.”

“It’s not, I just…”

“I know you’re rich Jason, and that the whole ‘normal standard of living’ thing is really hard for you to grasp, but I do have a good set up here with Minos. He lets me go to school, and I have the house to myself a lot. He even lets me watch TV on my birthday,” he scratches at the side of his face, “Oh, and he let me keep my bike.”

“Nico… You do realize…” Jason trails off, taking in the younger boy’s face.

While he wants to press the issue, he also doesn’t want to alienate him. Nico doesn’t see anything wrong with his living arrangements, and any attempts at addressing the problem Nico would probably take as insults.

“Realize what?” Nico asks, tilting his head to the side. Jason shook his head.

“Nothing, just that we should probably get started.”

Jason would have to wait to call the police. For now, he’d just enjoy his company.

-

Minos comes home at 9:53, pounding on the door like a madman and effectively giving Jason a heart attack. They both freeze, staring at each other with wide eyes as the knocking only grows more fervent and desperate.

“Open up, you brat!” is the muffled shout that comes and breaks Jason’s paralysis. He jumps up from the couch, AP US History notes fluttering everywhere and Nico’s pleas of ‘Jason, get back here, I can handle him when he’s like this’ falling on deaf ears. 

Jason opens the door and is met with the poignant mix of fermented wheat and Walmart brand cologne. The man in front of him looks haunting, and behind him, Nico certainly looks haunted.

“Who are you?” he slurs, “Another ghost?” He pushes past Jason to get inside.

“What did I tell you about ghosts in the apartment?” he shouts at Nico, “Do you want the neighbors to know you’re a freak?”

“This is Jason Grace,” Nico says in a staccato, as if every word is strenuous to get out, “He’s a friend from school.”

“And definitely not a ghost.” Jason adds.

Minos’s red eyes dart between the two of them.

“I’m not buying your tricks, you freeloader. We both know you don’t have any friends,” he takes a long swig from his bottle, “Stop torturing spirits just because you’re lonely. If no one wanted to hang out with you when they were alive, then they certainly don’t want to now that they’re dead.”

“With all due respect,” Jason grits, “I am very much alive and I do want to hang out with Nico.”

Minos pokes Jason in the chest.

“You’re getting good at this. Almost seems like he’s alive. Maybe you can control their mouths too.”

“Minos, please, you’re drunk and —”

“Far better at seeing through your illusions than you give me credit for. Now release his spirit.”

“I’m not holding his spirit, that’s ridiculous,” Nico says nervously, “No one can raise the dead, you’re not thinking straight.”

“Oh, now you want to talk to me about _straight?_ Listen, you better put this godforsaken demon back in hell or so help me I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Jason growls, stepping in between Minos and Nico. And when Jason growls, well… it’s a genetic hazard, really. He can’t very well help it.

“D’you see? There’s no way that thing’s human. Put. Him. Back.”

“Minos, he’s not a ghost I can’t —”

“I’ll give you to the count of three, and then I’m taking away your bed and bathroom privileges.”

“I’m trying to tell you, he’s real, an actual human being wants to be my friend, is that so hard to believe?”

Nico flinches as if he’s been slapped when Minos openly laughs.

“Don’t forget I took you off the streets and I can put you back on them. You think anyone else would be as kind to you as me? You think anyone else would take in scum like you? I’m a fucking humanitarian, and this is the thanks I get? You’ve been a thorn in my side for way too long and I am sick of having to clean up after —”

“I’m sorry, I am, but I can’t do what you want me to. It’s impossible.”

“1.”

“Please, Minos you have to understand -”

“2.”

“I…”

“3.”

Minos breaks the beer bottle in his hand against the door frame, and doesn’t even flinch as the remaining alcohol spills all over the carpet. He lunges at Nico, the jagged edges of the broken bottle aimed towards his face. Jason intercepts the blow just in time, twisting Minos’s arm against his back and pushing him down to the floor, to the surprise of both Minos and Nico.

Minos gets over it quickly enough.

“You will release this spirit and when you do I’m going to make the jar look like paradise, do you understand? Asphyxiation is going to be a dream compared to -”

Jason picks up Nico’s APUSH book and smacks Minos over the head with it. Once he’s safely unconscious, Jason gets up.

“We should tell Mrs. McQueen that book’s dangerous.” Jason says, hoping to dispel the tension in the room.

It doesn’t work. Nico just stares blankly at Minos.

“He’s going to kill me.” He says hollowly.

“Nico…”

“He’s going to kill me,” he repeats, “I don’t want to die. I don’t…”

Jason sits down on the couch next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey… it’s going to be okay. It’s over.”

“No, it’s not. I don’t have anywhere else to go. Minos was right, no one else would ever take me in.”

“I may have a place you can go.” Nico snorts, swatting at his eyes, “Your parents hate me, Jason.”

“I’m not saying with my parents. I’ll take you to the lodge.”

“The lodge?"

“Yeah, the lodge. It’s been in my family for generations, and my parents never visit, since my sister Thalia and her girlfriend live there now. There’s enough room for a small village, and I’m sure they’d be happy to have some outside company.”

“Jason… I can’t do that to you, and I… I don’t want to be asking for too much.”

“You’re not asking, I’m offering,” Jason clarifies, “Please, at least just spend the night so I don’t have to worry about you sleeping in a dumpster or something.”

“I don’t sleep in dumpsters,” Nico says hotly, “I sleep _behind_ dumpsters.”

“Well, I don’t want you sleeping anywhere near dumpsters, okay? Just one night, please?”

Nico laughs wetly, looking away from Jason.

“You’re doing the puppy dog eye thing.”

“So?”

“So it’s not going to work. I am immune to the puppy dog eye thing.”

“Then why aren’t you looking at me?”

“...Irrelevant.”

“Look at me.”

“You just knocked my legal guardian unconscious, and now you’re bossing me around? You’re lucky I haven’t called the cops.”

“Nico…”

He wrings his hands and glances at Jason, his gaze lingering no longer than a moment, but Jason can tell from the furrow in his brows that it was enough.

“Fine,” he bites out, “One night, then I’ll be out of your hair.”

“It’s a deal.” Jason beams.

-

It takes Nico less than a minute to pack, and a little over twenty minutes to get to the lodge. Nico spends the car ride in unusually high spirits, actually managing to crack a couple jokes himself and Jason may or may not accidentally crash the car when Nico flashes a real, honest-to-god smile. Then again, if Jason witnessed his abusive guardian getting the daylights knocked out of him, knowing he’d probably never have to see him again, he’d be pretty happy as well.

“What did Minos mean by ‘the jar?’” Jason asks eventually, chipping Nico’s good mood.

“Well, it’s this huge vase with a top, and it’s almost my height, with these swirling handles on the side,” he explains shakily, eyes darting between Jason and the window, “We use it as a hamper.”

“Really,” Jason scratches his jaw, “The way he said it, made it seem like a weapon or something.”

“Not a weapon, no… Um, is that the lodge?”

Jason nods and pulls into the gravel parking lot. He would help Nico with his things, but all of it more or less fits inside his book bag.

“You’re going to love Thalia and Reyna,” Jason says as they make their way to the front of the lodge, “They’re pretty much the coolest hunters I’ve ever met.”

“They’re hunters?”

“Yeah. I hope you like meat because that’s most of what they cook.”

“I’m only staying the night.” Nico says miserably.

“You’ll change your tune when you meet them,” he says, knocking on the door, “I promise.”

A girl wearing black pajama pants and a matching tank top opens the door, her face going from groggily confused to ecstatic in .03 seconds.

“Jason, it’s been a long time.”

“It’s been three days, Thalia. You don’t get to act like this is some big reunion.” He grumbles, but the smile on his face betrays him.

“Oh, and you brought a friend,” she says, turning toward Nico, “My name’s Thalia. Jason’s older and smarter sister.”

She sticks out her hand and he shakes it.

“Ooh, this one’s got a firm handshake. I like him,” she turns back inside and shouts, “Reyna we’ve got guests, get your ass down here.”

She opens the door wider.

“Well, don’t just stand there like strangers. Reyna will be down in a second, you guys want anything to drink in the meantime?”

“Got anything nonalcoholic?” Jason asks, flopping down on the couch.

“We’ve got water and apple juice, you incurable goodie two shoes. Pick your poison.”

“Just water. Nico?”

“Um,” he shifts his weight between his feet, “I’m okay.”

“Wait a minute,” Thalia’s grin widens, “This wouldn’t be the infamous Nico di Angelo, would it?”

Jason freezes.

“Thalia, don’t -”

“Jason’s told me a lot about you.”

Nico’s cocks his head to the side, trying to decipher the double-meaning in her tone.

“He has?”

“Thalia,” Reyna admonishes, hitting her with a rolled up newspaper, “Don’t meddle in your brother’s personal life.”

She sits down next to Thalia and crosses her legs, looking regal as always.

“And hurry up with those drinks.”

“Whatever,” Thalia rolls her eyes, “But I’m the only one having wine tonight. You have to set a good example for the other underaged kids.”

“Fine,” she concedes, not looking happy about it, “But who’s the kid in the black?”

“That’s Nico di Angelo.” Thalia calls back in a sing-songy voice as she goes to raid the fridge.

“Oh, you mean _that_ Nico,” she smiles, “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I’m Reyna, an old friend of Jason’s.”

“I’m Nico,” he says, despite it already being made a point, “A new friend of Jason’s.”

“Nico’s run into some problems at home, I was wondering if you and Thalia could let him stay here for a while.”

“Of course,” he consents without hesitation, “He can stay as long as he wants. But you do realize that also means we get to tell him every embarrassing story about you we know, right?” Jason pales.

“T-That’s not necessary.”

“Uh, yeah it is. You see at Jason’s fourth birthday he —”

“Jason tells me you two are hunters,” Nico says quickly, and Jason could’ve kissed him for the distraction, actually Jason could’ve kissed him without a reason, really, “Is that what you do for a living?”

A sharpness comes into Reyna’s eyes, and Jason thanks God that Nico’s too busy fiddling with his ill-fitted jacket to notice it.

“It certainly is a livelihood.” she replies cryptically.

“Oh,” Nico says, “Um, well how did you start?”

“Family business. Apparently my ancestors were hunters, back when it was a more popular occupation. It’s not to Jason’s liking, though. He’s a big softie.”

“Yeah,” the stiffness in Nico’s shoulders fades, “I don’t think Mr. Grace is too happy about him wanting to be a nurse.”

“Jason wants to be a nurse?” she asks incredulously, “This is the first I’ve heard of that. I just knew he didn’t want to pick up the family business.”

“We should accept it, Reyna,” Thalia says in a mawkish voice, setting the drinks down on the coffee table and sitting down next to her, “Our little Jason is growing up and branching out in the world. Soon he’ll be leaving the nest.”

“They go so fast.”

“Reyna, we’re the same age.”

“Uh-uh, you haven’t reached your six months yet.”

Jason’s eyes practically bulges out of his head. This is not something he wants brought up in front of his _very_ cute, _very_ mortal crush.

“Reyna...” he mutters, gesturing surreptitiously to the boy next to him.

“I mean," she amends, "I hear you’re technically not allowed to drive anyone else besides family until after the six month point. When did you get your driver’s license again?”

Thankfully Nico doesn’t seem to find anything odd. Jason lets out a breath.

“July.”

“So you’ve got a couple days.”

It’s not a reminder. It’s a warning.

He nods.

“Nico,” Thalia says suddenly, “Why don’t I show you to the guest rooms? You can pick whichever one you want.”

“Oh, uh, t-thank you.” He gets up and follows her down the hallway.

Reyna turns on Jason immediately.

“You haven’t told him?”

“I haven’t had the time,” Jason says wearily, “He doesn’t even believe I like him, how’s he going to be sold on the whole… werewolf thing?”

“He’ll be sold when you turn on Sunday. Listen, it’s different since he’s mortal. You know what’ll happen.”

Of course he does. It happened to Hercules’s girlfriend, and many of Jupiter’s full moon flings. They may have just seen it as collateral, but Jason has a lot riding on the peak of this lunar cycle.

“I’m not going to hurt him.”

Reyna’s eyes soften with something akin to pity, and Jason’s pride isn’t going to keep him from accepting it. He knows what she’s thinking, has thought it himself several times, that Reyna didn’t have to go through the struggle of loving someone completely human. It had been easy for her and Thalia, no risk of anyone getting torn apart, limb from limb. That sort of bad mojo can put a real damper on a relationship, nonexistent or otherwise.

“You might not mean to,” she continues carefully, like she’s trying to walk on thin ice, “But... you don’t understand what it’s like to completely change, to let the instinct take over. All of your senses will be heightened, and so will your emotions. Anger, fear… attraction. You could do something impulsive and end up ruining everything.”

“Well, how am I supposed to break it to him? Hey, I kind of like you and I’m not even sure if you’re into guys, oh and by the way, I just happen to be a mythological creature of the night?”

“We already know he’s a necromancer, so he’s in no position to reject your claims.”

“But he _is_ in a considerably significant position to reject my _affections.”_

“What’s worse, then, him rebuffing you, or you accidentally killing him?”

“You know this isn’t fair, Reyna.”

The pity seeps back into her demeanor, and she’s all warm eyes and rounded shoulders, something like a tacit apology for the inequity of Jason’s short, short life.

“None of this is far,” she sighs,

“But you have to be honest with him if you actually want your relationship to work, okay?”

Jason understands. He can’t have his cake and eat it too, he’s going to have to come clean eventually, sooner rather than later. Better to tell him ahead of time than to have him learn the truth over the pale light of the moon and sharp, sharp claws. Jason is a simple lycanthropic, shape shifting teenager, he just wants his first date to not end in the death of his crush.

“…Okay.”

“Okay?”

She sits up a bit, eying Jason sharply.

“I’ll tell him. Before the full moon.”

“Alright,” she nods, ‘Until then, we’ll keep him safe for you.”

“Thanks, Reyna,” he says, putting a hand on her shoulder, “It means a lot.”

The next day he’s woken up by Thalia. Not her physically shaking him or banging pots and pans like she usually does on her rare visits to the main house, but by a faint ringtone playing somewhere just beyond his ear.

“Yeah.” He mumbles, half awake, into the receiver.

“Your boyfriend’s sleeping in the closet.”

“What?”

“Oh my god,” Thalia laughs, “That sounds bad, but this isn’t some metaphor about veiled homosexuality, he’s actually sleeping on the top shelf of the closet in the guest room he picked out. Is this a mortal thing, or a necromancer thing?”

“It’s a child abuse thing. I’ll be right over.”

-

Nico wakes up instantly when Jason pokes him in the cheek. He’s curled up in a ball, and once his eyes snap open, he’s tumbling off the shelf, landing on the floor with a _thump._

“What are you doing sleeping in there?”

“I…” he quickly gets to his feet, “I didn’t want to be in the way.”

Jason’s heart practically breaks over that.

“It’s not really safe up there. Or healthy.”

“Yeah, well I’m out on the streets tonight anyway.”

“You’re not staying?”

“I already stayed. One night is all I promised.”

Jason knows, but still, it seems like a pretty backwards thing, to be resistant towards sleeping in normal beds, and preferring the streets to a friend’s house. Jason wishes he could understand what he’s thinking, but all of his paranormal senses are no match for Nico di Angelo’s own guardedness.

“Why are you doing this to yourself?” Jason asks before he can think better of it.

Nico turns away from him, and his shoulders are so sharp and high, they practically cut his ears. He takes in a breath like he’s about to go underwater, and his voice is just as low as his head.

“Jason… Don’t — don’t do this right now.”

“Do what? Care about what happens to you?” Jason can feel his anger spilling out, knows that he has to take a gentler approach with Nico, but he can’t help but see red for all that the poor kid has gone through, and all that he still has to get through, “Am I supposed to just sit back and watch your life fall apart?”

Nico rounds on him instantaneously, with a heated glare and an accusatory finger in his face.

It’s really not the time, but Jason finds it kind of hot.

“I’m not the one who assaulted my legal guardian, and left me with no place to go.”

“I was only protecting you. And you do have a place to go. I told you, Reyna and Thalia —”

“Are amazing,” he finished, “And didn’t do anything to deserve this kind of… inconvenience.”

“You’re not an inconvenience.”

“Don’t say that,” Nico screams, backing away from him, “Stop saying stuff like that, stop being so nice to me, just stop. I… you shouldn’t want to be so hospitable to me, I’m… I’m not normal.”

“Are any of us?”

“Now is not the time for your cheap, motivational clichés. I’m serious… I… What Minos was talking about earlier… the whole raising the dead thing, he was right. I mean, I can do it.”

“Nico —”

“He was right about another thing, too. I raise the dead because they’re the only ones willing to talk to me. It’s pathetic,” he laughed humorlessly, “No living thing ever wanted to come near me. But then something in your beautiful, perfect head malfunctioned and you decided you were going to hang out with the weird kid in the back. And one day you’re going to realize that all of this was a mistake, you’re going to leave me behind without batting an eye, and I’m going to be wrecked, okay? Is that what you want to hear? That despite all your best intentions, you know the streets is exactly where I belong, and you’re going to be the one to put me there if I stay here any longer. So, please, just let me leave before I make you want to get rid of me.”

“Nico…” he took a hold of his wrist, gently, always cautious of his personal space preferences, “I’d never want to get rid of you.”

“You will, eventually. Everyone always does. This may be your first time around, but it’s certainly not mine. I know how this goes, you think that you can fix me or that maybe helping me will make you feel better about yourself, but I am not, and have never been, worth any of the trouble. I’m a bad omen, a harbinger of doom and I’ve tried so hard to change, but none of it ever works out. Nothing ever works out. I think I’d be better off dead, but I can’t afford to be selfish, not when there are malevolent ghosts to keep from wreaking havoc and benevolent ghosts to ferry across the veil. If there was someone else to do all of this for me, I would’ve slit my wrists a long time ago.”

“Nico…” he whimpers, wanting more than ever and more than anything to wrap Nico in blankets, to protect him from the world and his own poor sense of self-preservation.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” he apologizes, wringing his hands, “Don’t feel bad.”

Jason takes his other wrist and thumbs the back of his hands. Nico goes stiff at the touch, looking at Jason with calculating eyes, as if trying to find an ulterior motive underneath all the warm reassurance.

“I promise I will never leave you, Nico. Not unless you end up getting sick of me.”

Nico gives something halfway between a scoff and a laugh.

“Keeping me around is a mistake, Jason.”

“Then it’ll be the best mistake of my life,” he beams, squeezing his hands, “Now come on, I’m making you breakfast.”

-

What starts with frying eggs and bacon, slowly evolves into a greasy game of checkers and by the time Thalia and Reyna are back from their “hunting” trip, Jason has lost sixteen games in a row and Nico’s being such a good sport, Jason can’t even complain about his own losses.

“You shouldn’t move your back men,” he adds unhelpfully, “Or back women. I don’t know, I don’t think checkers pieces really have genders. But I can’t really call them back people, because they’re just pieces of wood. So, I guess just don’t move your back pieces.”

“I know,” Jason groans, glaring daggers into the checkers board, noticing it’s dotted with considerably more black pieces than red, “But I don’t have any other good moves.”

“Want me to give you a hint?”

“No, I can do this on my own.”

“Alright… If you say so.” Jason moves one of his back pieces forward despite Nico’s advice and jumps him. He knows better than to celebrate a such a momentary victory, but he can’t help but jump up and shout “in your face” at Thalia, who had bet Reyna five bucks and a free Get Out of Doing the Dishes card that Jason wouldn’t be able to win one game out of twenty.

Nico double jumps him and lands on the far end of Jason’s side, with quiet little _clacks_ against the board and a small, apologetic smile. Thalia sticks her tongue out at Jason, like the mature adult she is. Jason begrudgingly flips Nico’s piece over to reveal an engraved crown.

“Lucky move?” Nico shrugs, but that had stopped making Jason feel better ten games ago.

“Are you kidding me?” Thalia laughs, “Stop sugarcoating it for him, di Angelo. Just hurry up and kick his ass.”

“But Jason has been getting better. I think if we keep playing, he’ll be able to beat me.”

“Please, I’ll be old and dying by the time Jason beats you.”

“I resent that.” Jason pipes up, motioning to move one of his side pieces forward. Nico emits a noise like a tea kettle left on the stove too long.

“What?” Jason asks, removing his hand from the board.

“It’s just… why don’t you look at all your other options before making a decision?”

“Hey, you’re helping him,” Thalia interrupts, “That’s cheating. Jason, you have to forfeit now.”

“You’re a terrible sister,” Reyna says, nudging Thalia with her foot, “Go on, Jason, at least Nico and I believe in you.”

Despite all of Nico’s attempts at helping Jason (and desperately trying to let him win the last game), he wasn’t able to win one out of the twenty. Reyna stares daggers into him all through dinner, after begrudgingly handing over five precious American dollars to the elder Grace. Or maybe it was because the full moon was tomorrow and Jason had yet to tell Nico his secret. Either way, Jason felt a lot better when they retired for the night (read: made out in Reyna’s room), and it was just him and Nico again.

“Jason, can I ask you a question?” Nico pipes up after the credits roll on Moonrise Kingdom, sprawled across the floor next to the couch.

“Sure, anything.” Is what ends up leaving his mouth, and _way to go Grace, congratulations on being the most obvious thing in the world._

Nico still hesitates though, because where Jason is obvious, Nico is ten times as oblivious.

“You don’t have to answer, I mean it’s kind of a dumb question, I don’t even know why I…” he trails off, fiddling with the drawstrings of a hoodie he borrowed from Reyna.

“It’s fine, Nico.”

“…Why do you like me?” he asks, as if expecting to be ridiculed or brushed aside. When Jason doesn’t answer right away, he panics.

“I know, it’s a stupid question, and I didn’t mean like as in… like like,” he’s quick to amend, “But why do you want to be with me? As in hang out, you know not… actually, maybe I should just go —”

“No!” he shouts, pulling Nico down on the couch with him, “Don’t, um, don’t go. It’s not a stupid question just…”

He takes a deep breath and it is a terrible moment to realize that Nico is practically sitting on his lap and his face is so, so close.

“I like you because you’re selfless and loyal, you’re smart and funny, you’re more hardworking than anyone I’ve ever met, and you’re just so genuinely good. People like that are so hard to find.”

Nico’s quiet a moment, and Jason takes that as his cue to let go. He slips down onto the seat next to him and stares at his hands for a while before meeting Jason’s gaze.

“T-Thank you.”

"Don’t mention it.” Jason says because he is a dork with nothing else to say.

They end up watching another movie and they’re not even five minutes into it when Nico falls asleep.

-

The next day is more or less the same, quasi-successful attempts at getting Nico to eat, more games, board or otherwise, that Jason gets beaten at, and a couple more movies that Nico has never seen before.

“Minos never let me watch movies, not even on my birthday. He always said that paper view was for Satanists and that if I tried he’d have me committed to a psychiatric ward. I didn’t know how legit his claim was, but I wasn’t about to find out.”

When the sun starts to set, though, Nico goes through his backpack and takes out his old goodwill clothes and a pair of black leather gloves.

“What are you doing?” Jason asks once he emerges from the bathroom. He wonders if maybe Reyna had gotten tired of him beating around the bush and outright told Nico his secret and the threat Jason posed to his wellbeing.

Nico squints at him.

“I’m not sure how much you believe me, but I do have a responsibility as a necromancer to help lost souls and protect people from poltergeists. I’m not running away or anything, I just can’t neglect to do my job any longer. They get especially reckless on the full moon.”

“I believe you,” Jason says quickly reaching for his bag, “I just hope you don’t mind if I tag along.”

“Jason. This is serious,” he pleads, “If you go out there, you could get hurt. I’m not joking, there’s more than just ghosts out there, and I can’t control them. If you get yourself in trouble, I can’t protect you. Please, just trust me and stay behind.”

“I do trust you. But I am not staying behind. What happens if you get hurt, huh? Who’s going to bail you out?”

“I can handle it myself. What I can’t handle is a tagalong.”

“Nico, I can do this —"

“I get that you’re on every varsity sports team our school has to offer, but this isn’t just smacking a ball around. You think that you’re invincible when you’re young, I used to feel the same way, but I’ve had my brushes with death and it is nothing to mess with. Do you think death takes pity on you because you’ve only lived seventeen years? You think death is merciful? There’s not a more cruel force in the world, and I will not let you throw yourself at it willingly!”

“Nico, I’m a lot more capable of defending myself than you think.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose and makes another noise that sounds like a tea kettle.

“Listen, I’ve been doing this for a long time, Jason. Your concern is touching, it really is, but can you please just stand down on this one? Please?”

“Why? So I can sit back and wait for you to show up half-dead on my doorstep?”

“Better me than you.” Jason crosses his arms.

“Your concern is touching, it really is,” Jason echoes, making Nico raise an eyebrow, “But unnecessary. You’re not the only one capable of holding their own against the supernatural.”

“Oh, really?”

“Really. And I promise, if you let me come, I’ll stay out of the way when you want me to. I’ll retreat when you want me to, just please let me help somehow.”

Nico eyes him up and down before sighing.

“Fine. You can carry my first aid kit.”

He tosses his backpack over and Jason catches it with a suspicious look. Nico doesn’t give him a chance to blink before he’s bounding out of the lodge, and treading into the forest.

“Your backpack?” Jason asks incredulously once he manages to catch up to him.

“It has valuable medical supplies so please be careful with it.”

“There’s a stapler, some tape, a needle and thread, a couple sheets of paper, and four blocks of wood. This is more like something I’d find at the bottom of grandma’s purse, how is this a first aid kit?”

“It’s the only stuff I could get a hold of at home,” Nico says defensively, “The needle and thread is for when I need stitches, the stapler is for when I don’t have the time. The tape and the paper together make bandages and the wood is for when I need a splint.”

“Is breaking limbs and getting stitches a regular thing?”

“Not really, three times a month at most. I barely feel it anymore, and even if the pain does get unbearable, I just knock myself out. I mean, after the danger’s passed, of course.”

There’s a lull in conversation, partly because Jason has no idea what to say to that, and partly because he knows that he has to break it to Nico before the sun goes down, and there’s no way to just come out and say “hey, werewolf who’s about to turn for the first time over here, and also in love with you, you know, just a heads up. If you want to run now is probably the time.”

“Nico,” Jason begins, and there’s really no easier way to do this than to just dive right in, “There’s something I have to tell you.”

“Can it wait? I don’t think we’re alone anymore.”

He lowers into a crouch and a black nightmare of a sword materializes at his fingertips in a blinding blast of white.

“I don’t think it _can_ wait,” Jason says, eying the setting sun, “You know all that stuff you said earlier, about not being normal?”

“Jason, please,” he hisses, “There’s something coming.”

Jason takes a deep breath. Now or never. Er, now or whenever his wolf side comes out and slaughters him.

“Nico, I’m a —”

“Now is really not the time. I’m trying to make sure you don’t get killed, okay, so you can tell me whatever it is after.”

Several things happen at once then. First, the sun goes down. Completely down. But Jason doesn’t even feel the loss of warmth, because the moon is overriding all of his nerves, consuming his mind. It’s easier to breathe, though, it’s easier to hear and see and oh… smelling is so, so much easier. Nico’s scent is more mouth-watering than he could have ever thought possible, and the urge to bite into it is nearly all-consuming. Thankfully, there are more pressing matters at hand, and before Jason can even think about doing something he’d regret, a beast with the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle is swooping down to attack Nico.

Jason immediately throws himself at it, biting and barking and tearing into its flesh, until it throws him back against a tree. Nico looks shocked, and Jason is overwhelmed by the candy apple scent he gives off. He’s never really gotten what emotion that’s tied to, but as he watches the necromancer wedge himself between Jason and the beast, as he watches him charge it and slash one of its limbs off, he gives into his head injury and the inky warmth of unconsciousness.

-

When Jason comes to, he’s still in wolf form, even though the moon has left him. He can feel cold, biting metal against his skin, and it takes a moment of blearily blinking his eyes to understand he’s in a kennel. At the animal shelter. He recognizes the place from the times he’s dropped off and picked up Nico from it, but visiting in one of the animal cages that’s…that’s new. He can hear voices up at the front, hears them a little too sharply and groans into the bars.

“Hey, I dropped off my dog here last night, I’m here to pick him up.”

“Are… are you sure that’s your dog, Nico? He looks more like a wolf to me.”

“Yeah,” he laughs good-naturedly, and god that is the best smell in the world, “He gets that a lot.”

There’s a clanging, the gate to the kennel area being opened, and it is way too loud in Jason’s ears. He can finally see their feet come into view, and the owner pats Nico on the shoulder.

“He had quite the concussion when you brought him in, but he’s doing a lot better now. Fast healer, he is. How’d he manage to get a head injury like that?”

“He, uh, he’s actually pretty clumsy sometimes. Last night he accidentally brought a shelf down on him.”

“Ah, well, he should be good to go now. I imagine he might be a bit lethargic for the next couple of days, but otherwise, he seems to be in perfect health.”

“Thank you.” Jason watches as the owner returns to the counter in the front, and Nico sits on his knees in front of the kennel.

“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you,” he says, undoing the latch, “You tried to tell me earlier too, but I’m just so thick sometimes.”

Jason nuzzles up to Nico’s chest and he gives a laugh permeating with candied popcorn.

“I don’t even know if you can understand me right now or if you’re in complete wolf mode, but… thanks. For defending me against the manticore, against Minos, for giving me a place to stay, just… thanks, for everything.”

Jason licks his cheek and Nico laughs again, but this one smells more like cotton candy, which is a scent Jason has yet to detect on Nico. It’s almost as if he’s shocked and elated at the same time, and Jason throws in one more kiss for good measure, feeling the scent swell against his nose. It’s hard not to give into every little desire when completely canine, especially where Nico’s involved. And besides, when this is all over, he can just blame it on the full moon.

-

Thalia and Reyna come home to Nico and Jason asleep on the couch, the necromancer’s fingers tangled in his fur.

-

When Jason shifts back, there are a lot of questions to be answered, the most important being the only one Jason got to pose. Nico said yes, of course, and that’s how they found themselves waiting in a ridiculously long line outside of some “critically acclaimed” French restaurant.

“You want to just go pick up some McDonald’s and go to the dog park?” Nico asks an hour after the hostess told them it would be fifteen more minutes.

“I thought you would want to go somewhere romantic for your first date.” Jason grumbles, fiddling with the sleeves of his jacket.

“I’m wearing your sister’s 6th grade hand-me-down jeans and her girlfriend’s sweater, that just so happens to be four sizes too big. I’m not exactly dressed for fine dining. And neither are you.”

Jason pulls at his plaid button down and frowns.

“It was supposed to be charming.”

“And it is. For a nice park date.”

Jason sighs and takes out his keys, looking them over.

“Are you sure you’re okay with just going to the dog park?”

“It’s not ‘just the dog park.’ It’s technically where we first met, you know. That’s more romantic than overpriced French fries and the smarmy looks I keep getting from the wait staff.”

“Fine. But no McDonald’s. We’re going to go to one of those hot dog vendors near the park.”

“Isn’t that cannibalism?” Nico laughs.

Jason frowns down at him.

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”

-

They do end up getting hot dogs, and spending the rest of the evening walking around the dog park, holding hands and talking about nothing.

“The sun’s going down.” Nico points out, using their conjoined hands to gesture towards the faded sky.

“I’m not going to randomly go wolf on you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I wasn’t. Just warning you that I might have to end this date by fighting off some undead.”

“Oh, come on, you fought off the undead last night.”

Nico takes a deep breath.

“Fine. But tomorrow night you are going to come and help me battle some poltergeists.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Mhmm,” Nico hums, “Now which night am I being introduced to your wolf gang thing?”

“It’s called a pack. And that would be Friday night.”

“Should I be prepared to be threatened not to break your heart or something?”

“Well, no one has ever dated outside of the pack before, so I’m not really sure how they’ll react. And there are a couple members who haven’t reached their six month periods yet, so they’re going to have to wait if they want to threaten you.”

“How did you get into your pack?”

“We form packs based on location and age group,” Jason explains, putting an arm around Nico, “So every werewolf within a twenty mile radius, under the age of 25, is in our pack.”

“Did you… Did you just use werewolf social dynamics as a cover for making a move on me?”

“What if I did?”

“Then I’d tell you that you could’ve done it without a cover.” He giggles, pressing a kiss to Jason’s cheek. He smells like cotton candy and raspberry lemonade, and he’s pulling away all too soon.

Jason fixes that.

“Then I won’t use one.” He says, leaning down to kiss him, getting his fingers tangled in Nico’s hair. Nico makes a soft noise of surprise before leaning into it himself, and it’s almost as if Jason has run his tongue across an assorted dessert platter, because Nico tastes like rhubarb cheesecake and strawberry-mango parfaits, like double chocolate chip brownies and apple turnovers, like frosted cinnamon buns and red velvet cupcakes.

When they finally pull apart, they’re both out of breath, with goofy grins slapped across their faces. Nico hides his behind his hand, though, and Jason grabs his wrist before slotting their hands together, so he can get a better look at his smile.

“You’re beautiful.” Jason breathes, and Nico gives him a look of pure disbelief. That’s okay, for now, though. Eventually, he’ll see.

-

“Whoa.” Is the first thing out of Piper’s mouth when Jason introduces his pack to Nico.

She plops down on the sofa next to him, and Nico flinches a bit. He smells like candied popcorn and looks positively intimidated underneath her kaleidoscope gaze.

“This is him? But he doesn’t smell like a necromancer.”

“You’re right,” Leo says, from somewhere just behind her, “He smells like doughnuts.”

“I was thinking vanilla mint ice cream.” Frank says.

“Macaroons.”

“Blue frosting.”

“Can you guys please stop salivating in front of my boyfriend? I think you’re scaring him.”

“You know what though, his scent’s a bit dulled. On top of everything, he kind of smells like…”

Percy leans in closer to get a whiff and Jason elbows him in the chest.

“Jason, you sick dog!” he laughs, “You’re scent marking him.”

Annabeth's eyes widen and somewhere in the lodge, Thalia and Reyna are laughing.

“He’s what marking?” Nico asks.

“Scent marking,” Annabeth explains before Jason can strangle her, “Basically he’s trying to impose his scent on you so other werewolves know you’re…uh, taken, I guess.”

_“What?”_

“Aww,” Piper coos, “I think he’s cute. Can we let him join the pack?”

“He’s not a werewolf, Piper.”

“Yeah, but he’s got that little lost puppy look. No one will know the difference.”

Annabeth flicks her in the head and sits on the other side of Nico.

“Don’t listen to her, she’s just teasing.”

“No, I’m serious. He can fight with us, you know, safety in numbers and all that jazz, and we really could use an extra hand around the loft. You said he didn’t have any place to go, right?”

“There are rules, Piper.”

“Hey, Thalia,” Piper calls, “Can Nico join our pack?”

“Mom’s not going to like that,” she calls back, “So I say he can.”

But Nico does and doesn’t join the pack. He doesn’t go with them on all of their excursions, but he goes on enough to learn how each member of the pack fights. When he screams, it turns out that the rest of the pack can hear him distinctly, no matter how far away, proving that even though he’s not really in the pack, they do share some sort of connection. He stays at the loft with Leo, Frank, and Piper, and ends up making dinner and doing the dishes himself most nights, but it’s alright because Frank helps him with his AP Lang homework and Piper takes him shopping for clothes of his own on the weekends, and Leo makes him weapons that are supposed to be for his own safety, but mostly just serve to ease the nerves of the rest of them when he joins in fights. He really can hold his own without any help, even if Jason and Reyna are the only ones who trust him to do so.

Percy and Annabeth hang out at the loft during weekends and holidays, during which they tell Nico he doesn’t have to lift a finger when it comes to cooking, which sort of becomes a moot point when they nearly burn the entire building down. Reyna spars with him immediately and without warning whenever he comes by the lodge, and those visits more or less end in them lying, panting, on the lawn, talking about how great it’s going to be when everyone graduates and Thalia earns enough money to buy the loft full-time and they can finally just be a pack without Jupiter and Juno breathing down their necks. Even Thalia, big bad alpha that she is, always makes sure that Nico is never put into any small spaces after he confides in her that Minos locked him inside ‘the jar’ whenever he accidentally summoned a ghost. And Jason… well, Jason’s the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to him, claws and all.

**Author's Note:**

> It's done. It's finally done. I'm so upset I didn't get to write Hazel in, if I ever do a sequel it's probably going to be about her and how her and Frank/Nico meet.


End file.
